Cannes 2014: Paramount spends $20 million for right to release 'Story of Your Life' with Amy Adams

Paramount brought out the checkbook at the Cannes Film Market today, agreeing to pay $20 million to distribute the sci-fi film Story of Your Life. The project will pair Amy Adams with Prisoners director Denis Villeneuve.

Adams was first linked to the project in April. She will star as a linguist who has to communicate with aliens who just landed on earth. While speaking with them, she has flashbacks that may reveal the secret of the aliens’ reasons for visiting. The story was created by Ted Chiang and Eric Heisserer wrote the script.

Deadline first reported that the project went to Paramount. The studio was one of five dueling it out, as Villeneuve has become a hot director following his successful Hollywood debut, Prisoners. He quickly followed that up with the indie Enemy, which also earned good reviews.

Paramount snagged distribution in the U.S., Canada and China. However, the studio will not be financing the film itself. FilmNation Entertainment is financing with Lava Bear Films. FilmNation is also selling the project to other international distributors.

“There is something so special about this project that attracted such rare talents as Amy Adams and Denis Villeneuve,” producers Shawn Levy and Dan Levine of 21 Laps said in a statement. “Together, we see a film that is as conceptually complex as it is emotionally resonant and we couldn’t be happier that Paramount shares our passion for it.”

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Villeneuve will likely make this film after Sicario with Emily Blunt and Benicio Del Toro.

Adams will next be seen in Tim Burton’s Big Eyes on Dec. 25. She just earned her fifth Oscar nomination for American Hustle.